Apparatus for forming holes in the flanges of structural members

Apparatus for forming a hole in the upright flange of an elongated structural member having a generally horizontal web joined to said flange, said apparatus comprising a generally vertically movable carriage, a tool mounted on said carriage and operable when actuated to form a hole in said flange, means for holding a selected number representative of the desired vertical distance of said hole from a predetermined horizontal reference plane located within the space occupied by said web, a probe movable vertically relative to said carriage, first mechanism selectively operable to move said probe from a first position spaced vertically from said web to a second position in contact with said web, a reversible counter, means responsive to movement of said carriage and also responsive to movement of said probe relative to said carriage to cause the count held by said counter to change by (i) a value which is a function of the distance traveled by said carriage whenever the latter is moved and (ii) a value which is a function of the distance traveled by said probe in moving relative to said carriage from said first position to said second position, means for causing said count to change in one direction as said probe initially travels from said first position toward said second position and, if said count reaches a predetermined value before said probe reaches said second position, to cause said count to change in the other direction as said probe finally travels to said second position, second mechanism automatically operable after said probe has stopped in said second position to move said carriage in one direction or the other depending upon whether said count is greater or less than said number when said probe has stopped in said second position, means for causing said count to change in one direction during initial travel of said carriage and, if said count reaches said predetermined value before coinciding with said number, to cause said count to change in the other direction during continued travel of said carriage, means for automatically stopping said carriage when said count coincides with said number, and means for actuating said tool after said carriage has stopped.

Apparatus for forming holes in the upright flange of an elongated I-beam having a generally horizontal web joined to said flange, said apparatus comprising a generally vertically movable carriage, a tool mounted on said carriage and operable when actuated to form a hole in said flange, a probe movable vertically relative to said carriage, first mechanism selectively operable to move said probe from a first position spaced vertically from said web to a second position in contact with said web, second mechanism automatically operable to move said carriage vertically after said probe has moved to said second position, a reversible counter, means for causing said counter to initially hold a count which is a function of the vertical thickness of said web, means responsive to movement of said probe for causing said count to change by a value which coincides with twice the distance traveled by said probe in moving from said first position to said second position, said means also being responsive to movement of said carriage and causing said count to change by a value which coincides with twice the vertical distance traveled by said carriage, means for holding a number which is a function of twice the desired vertical distance of said hole from a predetermined horizontal reference plane which bisects said web, means for automatically stopping said carriage when said count reaches a value which coincides with said number, and means for actuating said tool after said carriage has stopped.

Apparatus for forming a pair of vertically alined holes in the upper and lower upright flanges of an elongated I-beam having a web joined to and extending generally horizontally from said flanges, said holes being spaced equidistantly from a predetermined horizontal reference plane which bisects said web, said apparatus comprising a generally vertically movable carriage, upper and lower punch presses mounted on said carriage and operable when actuated to form holes in said upper and lower flanges, respectively, a probe movable vertically relative to said carriage, first mechanism selectively operable to move said probe from a first position spaced vertically from said web to a second position in contact with said web, a reversible counter, means for causing said counter to initially hold a count which coincides with the vertical thickness of said web, means for holding a number which coincides with twice the desired vertical distance of either of said holes from said reference plane, means responsive to movement of said carriage and also responsive to movement of said probe relative to said carriage to cause said count to change by (i) a value which coincides with twice the distance traveled by said carriage whenever the latter is moved and (ii) a value which coincides with twice the distance traveled by said probe whenever the latter is moved relative to said carriage, means for causing said count to change in one direction as said probe initially travels from said first position toward said second position and, if said count reaches a predetermined value before said probe reaches said second position, to cause said count to change in the other direction as said probe finally travels to said second position, second mechanism automatically operable after said probe has stopped in said second position to move said carriage in one direction or the other depending upon whether said count is greater or less than said number when said probe has stopped in said second position, means for causing said count to change in one direction during initial travel of said carriage and, if said count reaches said predetermined value before coinciding with said number, to cause said count to change in the other direction during continued travel of said carriage, means for automatically stopping said carriage when said count coincides with said number, means for actuating one of said punch presses after said carriage has stopped thereby to punch a hole in one of said flanges, means for thereafter moving said carriage and for causing said carriage to stop when said count again coincides with said number, and means for thereafter actuating said other punch press to punch a hole in the other of said flanges.